


Riviera Life

by misura



Category: The Aristocats (1970)
Genre: Community: smallfandomfest, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-29
Updated: 2014-06-29
Packaged: 2018-02-06 18:03:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1867311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Thinking?" Duchess asked. "Why, I do that, too, sometimes. And I am sure Madame did a great deal of thinking, too, before she decided to make this room."</p>
<p>"See?" Thomas said. "We're not so different after all, you and me and Madame. All of us thinking folks."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Riviera Life

**Author's Note:**

> prompt: _Duchess/Thomas O'Malley, jazz in the bedroom_ (OrliDepp)

"Golly gee whiz," Thomas said, looking around the large room. "I guess your Madame isn't such a bad egg. For a human, I mean." The piano, especially, looked impressive - nice and big. The whole band might fit under the lid, if they needed a place to sleep during a rainy night.

"But of course." Duchess sat down and started daintily licking her paw. "I told you so, did I not, Monsieur O'Malley?"

"That you did," Thomas agreed quickly. "That you did, indeed. I just - "

"And a lady would never tell a lie," Duchess said. "As I'm quite sure you know."

Thomas recognized an opportunity to keep his mouth shut rather than get his nose swiped at when it was presented to him in a silver bowl. "Oh, absolutely. I don't mind saying, I didn't doubt you for a minute. Not even a second." Not that he took Duchess for the nose swiping kind, but a dame was a dame; she'd be at least _thinking_ it.

"How kind you are," Duchess said, her voice like warm cream with a drop of honey. "And so well-mannered."

"Well now," Thomas said, because when a dame with sapphire eyes paid you compliments, a smart tom ought to know better than to be picky about what she was calling him, precisely. "Just because I might not always run around in the circles of the hoity and the toity, that doesn't mean I'm not a gentleman as well as a rogue."

Duchess flicked her tail. "Are you a rogue, Monsieur O'Malley? Truly?"

"Oh yeah." Thomas grinned, showing some fine teeth, if he did say so himself. "You could definitely call me a rogue." Plenty of people had, in the past. "A real scoundrel, that's me."

Her eyes seemed to sparkle at him. "A scoundrel? How interesting. I do confess, I have never met a real scoundrel before. I had always been given to understand they were quite dreadful. Not at all trustworthy. Or brave. Or at all kind, let alone well-mannered."

"Not all scoundrels are scoundrels, baby," Thomas said, winking. "If you know what I mean. Why, some of us are as harmless as kittens. Well, not kittens, maybe. That is very harmless. But nearly completely harmless, so long as you're not a mouse."

"Oh, I do believe I know exactly what you mean, Monsieur O'Malley." She smiled at him a little shyly.

"I thought you might." Beauty and brains: his kind of dame.

"But then," Duchess said, in a tone that made Thomas's ears prick, and his paws, too. "I suppose a scoundrel is a wanderer, isn't he? Not someone at all likely to stay in one place. A life on the highway. I'm sure it must be very exciting."

"One big adventure, baby," Thomas said proudly. "That's life for me."

"Then I imagine you will be leaving us again very soon, will you not?" - and there, he should have listened to his ears and paws, not just let his mouth run on without even thinking about it.

"Well, I'm not in any hurry or anything," Thomas said studiedly casual. "That's one of the best things about living the high life on the highway. No obligations, no responsibilities." Upon reflection, playing papa to three energetic, delightful kittens would probably be considered 'responsibilities'. "None that I don't want, anyway."

"And your own pad is very nice, too, of course," Duchess said politely.

"To tell you the truth, it does get a bit lonely sometimes," Thomas said. He'd never felt that before, and he wasn't quite sure if that was how he felt about it now, but a tom could be forgiven taking some liberties with the strict truth when a pair of heavenly blue eyes was staring at him.

"Oh, I don't believe that at all," Duchess said with a dismissive flick of her tail. "You, Monsieur O'Malley? Lonely? But you have such wonderful, interesting friends."

"Well, when they're around, they sure know how to liven the place up, don't they?" That was one night he sure wasn't going to be forgetting in a hurry. Or ever.

"Oh, I say." Duchess smiled fondly. Thomas felt absurdly jealous.

"It's only, they're not around all the time, are they? And so a tom gets to thinking sometimes."

"Thinking?" Duchess asked. "Why, I do that, too, sometimes. And I am sure Madame did a great deal of thinking, too, before she decided to make this room."

"See?" Thomas said. "We're not so different after all, you and me and Madame. All of us thinking folks."

"Yes," Duchess said. "I do see."

"It's not such a bad thing to do, every now and then, thinking."

"Why, Monsieur O'Malley, are you making fun of me?" Duchess asked.

"I'm a scoundrel, remember?" Thomas winked at her. "Us scoundrels, we get to cracking some jokes and poking a bit of good-natured fun every now and then, when we're not sure what to do with ourselves, or when we're finding ourselves all tongue-tied in the company of a beautiful da- damsel. Or both."

"Oh, I am quite sure you always know very well what to do with yourself," Duchess said. "That is - a lady would never wish to presume too much, of course."

"Go on, it wouldn't be presuming at all," Thomas said. "Not at all. Go on, tell me."

Duchess hesitated. "Well," she said. "That is to say - I was thinking that perhaps you might like to stay here for a while. I am sure Madame would not mind at all. And I ..."

"Don't think you'll be seeing that Edgar fellow around again here," Thomas said cheerfully. "No worries there, baby."

Her tailed flicked once, twice. "You have been very kind to us."

"Happy to have been of assistance," Thomas said and then, before his mouth could run off with him again, "and I'd love to stay here for a while. Love you. I mean, love to."

"Oh, I'm so glad," Duchess said. "And you must ask your friends to come, too, to play their music for us. Madame does love to dance, too, and Marie is becoming a better singer every day. It will be so very nice."

"A bit crowded, don't you think?" Thomas asked, a little desperately. Not, of course, that it wouldn't be magical to dance with her again, or to see how Berlioz was coming along with the piano, but, well, three was a crowd sometimes.

"It's a very big house, Monsieur O'Malley," Duchess said. "Trust me. I believe it will be simply perfect."


End file.
